There is now far greater tolerance of sexual experimentation than two generations ago.

All too many members of society sit uneasily with the notion that when it comes to sex, “anything goes.” The extreme levels of narcissism are increasingly matched by the practice of sex without attachment. Sexual mores no longer seem be keeping up with the unprecedented advances in communication. The rapid decay of any sexual boundary in the 21st century disturbs both editors and readers. They see pornography with its often brutalizing images as dehumanizing the pleasurable vistas of sex. http://yoricksblog.com/2013/12/17/30-21st-century-sexual-mores/

So where is sex going?

Poorly written [http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/28/50-shades-of-grey-is-the-subject-of-a-course-at-american-university.html] English paperback, Fifty Shades of Grey mainstreams bondage eroticizing dominance and submission. Isn’t it true Rape is about control…submission and dominance. Sensationalizing bondage feeds the beast that rapes. A Rape Culture is systemic. EL James , fortyish TV executive and mother of two is a product of Rape Culture. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/17/entertainment/la-et-fifty-shades-of-grey-20120417 http://www.snarksquad.com/category/books-2/fifty-shades/fifty-shades-of-grey

Already, the hint of release of the movie version of the book in February increased sales at sex shops. Ever notice whatever the media decides to focus on and sensationalize, affects sales and profits & losses. It’s all a means to an end: bottom lines and profits. What sells? Sex sells, exploitive sex…even poorly written unrealistic fluff sells if it’s erotic like a novel eroticizing bondage. But, what about the fallout from a Rape Culture? The fallout affecting innocent ones. But, the world is not iffy shades of grey its light.

For most of us, access to safe drinking water and sanitation is something to which we give little thought. Yet the reality for nearly 750 million people is vastly different. Around the world, women and children spend nearly 200 million hours fetching water every day for their families. That’s 200 million hours they could spend attending school, building businesses and making other contributions to their communities. In India, for example, women can make up to six trips a day to gather and transport water, carrying as much as 15 liters every trip. In some cases, these walks cover 10 miles a day. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-damon/a-journey-to-sundance-to-_b_6518396.html

A study by Booz & Co reports that approximately one billion women have the potential to enter the global workforce in the next decade. The amount of time that women spend searching for safe water poses a significant barrier to their ability to join the labor market. Access to safe water and sanitation are at the root of economic development, disease prevention, and breaking the cycle of poverty.

Join Water.org and Stella Artois in our efforts to help stop these water-collecting journeys, so women can begin new journeys of their own. Your generosity can help bring health, hope and possibility to families around the world.

To learn more about the Stella Artois ‘Buy a Lady a Drink’ campaign, stories of women directly impacted by the global water crisis and how you can purchase a Chalice, visit http://www.BuyALadyADrink.com or join the conversation with #BuyaLadyaDrink. To learn more about Water.org, visit http://water.org/.

At 109 year olds, the oldest woman in Scotland says her secret to longevity is getting plenty of exercise, her morning bowl of warm partridge…and staying away from men. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/secret-to-long-life-avoiding-men_n_6508870.html?cps=gravity_2682_5629564315345120307 What’s your recipe for a long healthy life? How do you live in the world without being of the world?

Conservatives like to pretend there is no war on women, so PoliticusUSA developed a running list of legislation to prove that there is indeed a war on women. The proof is in the policy, and policy trumps words. http://www.politicususa.com/proof-war-women-2

We live in a culture of rape objectifying and exploiting women, which is proliferated around the world by the media and, then we have the GOP, legislating 1000 of bills [http://www.politicususa.com/proof-war-women-2] to control women’s reproductive rights as well as marginalize women’s rights generally. Someone please tell the GOP to give as much attention to the needs of the 99 percent and the country and get out of out vaginas!

What do you get when you combine a vagina, hip-hop, comedy and the Muppets? Promote Cervical Health? Watch here: http://www.upworthy.com/got-a-vagina-heres-a-song-worth-listening-to-for-your-vaginas-sake

There are 2 options for everyone on the planet, which can be broken down into 3 distinct pieces: Gender Identity; Gender Expression; and Biological Sex (reproductive organs i.e., penises and vaginas are the determinant of gender).

But, gender is not universal, is not cross-cultural and gender changes over time.

But, gender is relative, is cultural, and gender, the way we express it, changes over time.

But if someone has a penis he’s raised as a male; if someone has a vagina she’s raised as a female

But, some people…have a different gender identity than one of the two options (male or female) like transgender and all the other categories of gender related to human beings in the 21st century.

Gender isn’t something you can understand in ten minutes. Its more complex than just whether one has a vagina or a penis. So, what’s going on?

In summary according to a TED speaker, your biological sex (or the parts you’re born with) is only a component of gender, its not a determinate of who you are as body parts don’t necessarily mandate who you’re going to be.

Not all people fall into the binary gender categories of male and female…trans-gender, transvestite, genderqueer, agender, etc. if you’re born with a penis you’re taught to be a boy; if you’re born with a vagina you’re taught to be a girl. But the two gender categories don’t express the complexity that exists.

Gender Equality is about the freedom to uniquely express gender without binary categories or stereotypical judgments.

Now, we need space…to allow everyone, despite how they biologically present, to express their gender uniquely and feel safe when they don’t fit into a binary gender world.